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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29621973">a study on ruining your life twice</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shuttering_Flutterflies/pseuds/Shuttering_Flutterflies'>Shuttering_Flutterflies</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>the divine right of kings [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Gods &amp; Goddesses, Child Neglect, Cults, Gen, Human Experimentation, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Religion, ao3 get their real names off the fucking tags i swear to god</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 18:00:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,460</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29621973</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shuttering_Flutterflies/pseuds/Shuttering_Flutterflies</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Before Dream ruled over the SMP with an iron fist, before he was locked in an obsidian cage with only his secrets as company, before he was anybody important at all, he was just a kid with a mask. Nobody special at all, really.</p><p>...</p><p>ẅ̴̯͔͕́ͅh̴̫̒͝a̷͙̰̞̳̮͒̉͝ţ̴̡͎͎̫̅̂ ̵̱̣͕̯͂̓̃a̷̱̯͓̪͗͜ͅr̴̨̲̮̣̅̍̌e̵̘͙͉̼̊̚ ̷̢̖̙̣̥̥͑̃͝y̴̻͗ŏ̸̡̮̿̄̈́͘͝u̸̲͛ ̷͙̞̝̠̝̽f̵̡̘͕̘̙̟ò̶̫͈͕̟̽̎͋̍r̷̢̝̝̂̒g̴̬̰̞̃̕͝e̶̡͉̋͊̌͝͠t̵̻̦́͊̍͝t̶̟̝̽̓͑̉i̵̟̻̩͌̚ͅn̴̥̓͛̌̾g̵̨̰̱͉̙͆̈́?̵̝̳͒̂</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alexis | Quackity &amp; Clay | Dream &amp; Sapnap, Clay | Dream &amp; Clay | Dream's Sister Drista (Video Blogging RPF), Darryl Noveschosch &amp; Sapnap, Zak Ahmed &amp; Darryl Noveschosch</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>the divine right of kings [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2076273</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. part one</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Tommy's stream gave me the motivationI I need to post this :0 I hope you all enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Dream, get back here!”</p><p> </p><p>Dream laughs as he sprints down the corridor, the kind of laugh that makes you double over, fighting for breath, and dodges around the corner while his father continues to yell at him. Sapnap and Quackity join him a second later, the three boys falling to the ground as they laugh gleefully.</p><p> </p><p>“No way,” Dream whispers, “I can’t believe that worked!”</p><p> </p><p>Quackity dug his elbows into Dream’s side, the smiling face on his mask reflecting his amusement. “What did I tell you, Dream? You know I always have the best plans, eh?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, yeah…” Sapnap fires back, his smile giving his true feelings away. “We’re gonna be in so much trouble later.”</p><p> </p><p>“Speak your yourself, my parents love all of my jokes,” Quackity shot back, puffing his chest out proudly. “They taught me everything I know, you know!”</p><p> </p><p>“Ugh, I wish my dad was that supportive,” Dream sighs, good mood dampened by this reminder. Ignoring Sapnap’s attempt to point out Quackity’s obvious lie, he went on, frowning underneath his mask. “He’s so insistent that I have to set a good example for Drista, so now whenever I do anything fun I just get yelled at! It’s so ridiculous, it’s not my fault this entire place is boring as heck!”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m so lucky I don’t have siblings,” Dream’s unmasked friend reflects quietly, shrinking back when Dream shoots him a glare. “I didn’t mean it in a mean way!”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, <em>Dream</em>,” his other friend purrs, elbowing him again and shooting him such a smug look it was almost visible through his mask. “He didn’t mean it like that, don’t be such a dick.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, don’t be such a dick,” a fourth voice said suddenly, causing the three boys to shriek in fright, turning to see Dream’s sister standing beside them, hands on her hips in an authoritial position. “What are you guys talking about?”</p><p> </p><p>Dream sagged, head falling on to his knees. “Go <em>away</em>, Drista. No one wants you here.”</p><p> </p><p>The six year old sat beside them, ignoring Dream’s moan at this action, and instead turning to look at Sapnap in Quackity. “Dad’s really mad at him. What did he even do this time?”</p><p> </p><p>“It was my idea,” Quackity interjected, earning a glare from both Sapnap and Dream.</p><p> </p><p>“Right,” Drista didn’t spare him a glance, choosing to focus on Sapnap, who had gained a reputation for being the smartest, or at least the most sensible, of the trio. “Sapnap, what did he do?”</p><p> </p><p>The twelve-year-old shrugs casually, leaning back against the wall, snorting in amusement. A tiny spark jumped from his skin as he did so. “He vandalised your dad’s shrine.”</p><p> </p><p>Drista spun to look at her brother, mouth hanging open so wide it was visible even with her mask. “Dream! Did you really do that?” the shock in her voice mixed with the barely contained laughter at her brothers bravery made said brothers smile widen. “No wonder he’s so upset, you know how much that means to him.”</p><p> </p><p>He shot her a glance, green eye barely visible through his mask. “It’s dumb,” he said flatly.</p><p> </p><p>Sapnap and Quackity, bewildered by the way Drista shifted uncomfortably and Dream’s upset disposition, shot each other twin glances of confusion, unsure how they should salvage the conversation. After a moment of awkwardness, Sapnap put a gentle hand on Dream’s hoodie-clad shoulder, trying to comfort him.</p><p> </p><p>“He won’t be too mad, right? Like, my parents like their shrine but if I messed it up a bit they wouldn’t be <em>that</em> angry.”</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t get it,” Dream mumbles. “He’s really into the shrine. Ever since Mom died – I don’t know, I guess he sees it as a way to be close to her or something.”</p><p> </p><p>The group stays silent as Dream sniffles, tightening his grip on his legs until he’s curled up into a ball. Drista looks at the ground, guilt dragging her shoulders down until she’s ready to sink into the ground.</p><p> </p><p>“Dream,” she whispers, “I – “</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t.” her brother responds firmly, looking up to glare at her. “Don’t be stupid, Drista.”</p><p> </p><p>Yet again, Quackity and Sapnap give each other looks, albeit much more uncomfortable looks. It wasn’t a secret that the siblings’ father had fallen apart after their mothers’ death and was only now beginning to pull himself back together. It also wasn’t a secret to the pair that he blamed his youngest child for her death, as Dream had ranted to them about it a lot. Even when they visited his family, they could see the difference in the way he treated them, with Drista always being regarded coldly in a way her brother never was.</p><p> </p><p>“Look,” Quackity began, his wings shifting in his discomfort. “You know, if your dad is being weird and shit you can always come and stay with me for a while. My parents won’t mind.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks,” Dream said in a tired voice, his sister echoing him a moment later. “I don’t think it’s that bad, but I’ll keep that in mind.”</p><p> </p><p>“Same here,” his second friend adds, reaching his hand out to Dream. Not close enough for contact, but enough for Dream to feel the heat radiating off him. “I don’t think it’ll be that bad ever, but… just case, yeah?”</p><p> </p><p>Dream nods once, lifting his head up so he can look Sapnap in the eyes, a thankful smile twisting the edges of his mouth. Of course, his friend can’t see it for his mask, but Sapnap smiles back anyway.</p><p> </p><p>Drista gets to her feet, shedding her depressed demeanour for a much more assertive one. “Did you hear there’s some new people moving in here? Pretty weird, huh?”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Dream replies.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” the other two say.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s super weird, huh? When was the last time anyone new came here?” Sapnap continued, eyebrows raised conspiratorially. “Aside from Dream, I guess.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey!” Drista yelped playfully, shoving him lightly.</p><p> </p><p>“I heard his dad is a scientist,” Quackity added, hunching over to address the group quietly. “Super religious, and that’s why they let him move in.”</p><p> </p><p>Dream raised an eyebrow thoughtfully. It was odd, he had to admit. Their tiny village was unusual for three reasons. The first, of course, was the masks everyone worse, aside from those who couldn’t wear masks. The second was how religious they were, which tied back to the first. The entire village wore masks to honour the twin Gods of Order and Chaos, and while this itself wasn’t unsual, the level of worship at the village was. Masks to mimic the Gods’ faces, shrines to them in every room. Dream could admit is was pretty bizarre. The weirdest part was how no one was allowed to move into the village, because they apparently weren’t faithful enough, as his father put it. No one really seemed to understand why this was and Dream himself had always thought that the real reason was because there wasn’t enough room. You see, the final unsual thing about this village is the location. Rather than being a traditional set of houses beside a small farm, the village is just an old derelict mansion that had been forgotten by everyone, nestled in the middle of a large forest. The mansion was huge, large enough to accommodate everyone comfortably, with numerous hidden passages they were only just finding (Dream had to admit these passages made for a lot of fun). They had a farm inside the mansion itself, in a room where the walls had collapsed, and even a swimming pool in the large basement. There was no need for anyone to ever leave the mansion, in fact Drista herself had never ventured outdoors. Of course, Dream and his friends had many times, never straying far from the mansion no matter how adventurous they claimed to be.</p><p> </p><p>“Is it just the man, or does he have kids?” he asked, shaking his thoughts away.</p><p> </p><p>“I heard there’s one kid called Skeppy,” Drista butted in. “I think he’s a little bit younger than you, though.”</p><p> </p><p>“Skeppy, huh?” Sapnap mused, biting his lip. “He sounds… interesting.”</p><p> </p><p>“Whatever,” Quackity sighed, getting to his feet. “I bet he’s boring as hell anyway.”</p><p> </p><p>The other two followed suit, Dream laughing at Quackity’s remark. “Don’t bully him,” the teen grinned, “my dad’ll get mad at me if you do.”</p><p> </p><p>They all set off down the stairs, still talking amongst themselves, completely ignorant to how their lives were about to change forever.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. friendly faces</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Dream meets a familiar face, and a new face.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I don't even care anymore I just want to get this chapter out of my face :/. I'll try not to take so long with the next one, if anybody cares lmao</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dream is in class when it happens. The teacher stands at the front of the room, droning away to the younger students, who barely pay any attention to what she’s saying, Sapnap and Quackity are whispering to each other beside him while he himself simply stares down at the first paragraph of his essay on the dreamon genocide, too exhausted to even attempt to write anything. Dream had had a terrible night, being unable to sleep at all last night and instead spending hours lying in his bed simply staring out of the window in a paranoid and terrified daze. He had lay there for hours, not even daring to roll over lest something creep up to the window and watch him. He was completely unable to shake the image of someone watching him through the window, leering at him from somewhere in the forest he couldn’t see, obscured by the forest. No matter how many times told himself to stop being paranoid, no matter how many times his gaze swept over the same area completely devoid of any sapient life, the idea had stuck inside his brain and kept him up as the night shifted today. Even now as he sits half-awake awake in a brightly lit room with dozens of other people around, he still finds himself slightly on edge, a little jumpier than normal despite the exhaustion sunken into his tired bones.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Still, paranoia or no paranoia his lack of sleep is doing its best to catch up to him. With a yawn so wide his jaw aches, he rests his head on his book, feebly attempting to keep his eyes open as he does so. His gaze wanders to the wall, where he can see an old poster he drew years ago. At the front of the room, the teacher arguing with someone who sounds a lot like his little sister and Dream can’t help but sight at that, one that seems to steal the energy left in his gelatinous body. His eyes slide shut and don’t reopen as his body relaxes, snuggling deeper into his hoodie. It’s fine. He’ll deal with it later.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>The sky above you is endless, a gaping black abyss so lacking in light and colour that it steals the breath from your lungs, suffocating under the weight of your insignificance. Your hand is a mottled purple as you point up to the sky, false bravado in your movements as you turn to scan a yellow landscape, empty of both people and anything other than rock and obsidian, for your companion.</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>He is gone, and so you let your hand fall quietly, turning away from the emptiness above you. Your face is devoid of a mouth with which to yell, so you simply rise into the air calmy, tucking your legs under you as you continue to move your gaze across the landscape, still searching. You know that he is here with you, you know it as well as you know you are here with him. A constant reminder echoes in the hollows of your chest as a constant feeling of companion, an adequate replacement for the heart you don’t need.</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>Then he calls your name in a voice more familiar than the sound of your own muffled breath in your lungs. Your constant smile, as false as it is wide, brightens into something more genuine and you glide over to wait beside him as he stumbles blindly towards you, reaching out to him and pulling him into the air beside you.</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>Still holding his hand, you speak through his mouth, the familiar sensation of being an unwanted visitor and long awaited guest settling itself into your brain as you do so. “Where were you?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>His own fingers tighten around your hand as you speak, twisting your hands loosely as he looks through your eyes. It is the easiest feeling in the world to let him push you back in your own head, the world around you blurring and distorting as you become a stranger in your own body for a moment. He looks around at the surrounding area, and you feel a pulse of disappointment resonate through you both.</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>“It’s nothing special,” you agree, shrugging in resigned disappointment. “I thought there would be something more…”</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p><em>He retreats back into his own body then, and you gladly reclaim the space he had filled, blinking your eyes a few times to readjust to your eyes once more and then yo</em>u blink yourself awake.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Someone is poking Dream in the back of the head. Blearily and making a valiant effort to ignore the foul taste now lingering in his mouth, he turns to see Quackity smirking at him, a ruler extended to give him another poke.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I can’t fucking believe you fell asleep in class!” he whispers gleefully, poking him one last time for good measure before dropping his ruler back to his desk. “You should thank me for waking you up before anyone else noticed.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Dream sighs and picks himself off his desk and into a normal sleeping schedule. His brain is fuzzy with sleep, his limbs heavy and strangely cold, and he barely has the brain capacity to continue writing, but he picks his pen up and stares valiantly down at the words on the page.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>After the war, </em>he begins, handwriting shaky<em>, the other Gods didn’t trust Chaos. Because Chaos had –</em></p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>His eyelids droop shut for a second and he jumps back into wakefulness, scowling down at the line his moment of drowsiness had left on the page.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>because Chaos had disappeared after the war, they decided that if he couldn’t be punished, they would punish his allies. Order was stripped of his rank and banished from the Gods’ City for helping Chaos escape, and the Dreamons –</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>He pauses again here, torn on whether he needs to explain the political situation between the Gods and the Dreamons before even the war had begun, or if he just has to stick to the genocide alone. Fuck, this was confusing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He rubs his hands over his face, desperately trying to stay awake again. He doesn’t have the mental capacity for this, right now. There’s an unfinished essay on his desk, a sister being yelled at, and two giggling friends on either side. These ridiculous dreams and paranoia have no business bothering him this much, and so with this thought he sits up straight, takes a deep breath in and imagines blowing all the worry and exhaustion away with his exhale. Then he looks down at his paper and prepares to start writing again –</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The door slams open and he jumps hard enough to make his chair clatter against the ground. His teacher shoots him an irritated look, one that Drista mimics with a satisfied tilt of her head, before turning to the now open door and the people in it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There is a boy, one Dream is pretty sure he has never seen before. His head is completely covered by what appears to be a cardboard box, painted a light shade of blue, like the sky on a warm and sunny day. On the front, where Dream can only assume his face is, is a scribbled on smiling face, with two oval eyes and a wide gaping mouth. He raises an eyebrow, surprised to see someone wearing a box as opposed to the usual masks. Is that even allowed? He glances over at Sapnap and sees him turn to look at them, glowing yellow veins shimmering in the light as he pulls a confused face and shrugs. Dream turns back to the strange boy and watches as he speaks to their teacher, who appears to be as unhappy about his box as he imagined she would be. The boy is dressed very plainly, a simple black hoodie and black jeans, brown skin poking out from the pockets his hands are tucked away in as he nods his head, the box sliding around his head as he does so.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Interesting</em>, Dream thinks to himself, leaning his head on his hands. He can’t deny he’s intrigued. No one new has ever moved into the village before, with the closest they’ve gotten being passers-by that sold weird items from strange lands outside while the adults gave them dirty looks. This boy who’s moving in is something new, and dare he say it – exciting. Dream sits up a little straighter, wondering if the boy lived somewhere exciting before here, what kind of stories he has about his old life, if he’d be willing to share them, even! He, like all of the other kids, has always found the outside world to be really entertaining, even if he’d never really be able to explore it himself, so at least he can live vicariously through this guy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He blinks, realising the boy is now walking towards him, and panics, throwing his glance down to his work as the boy makes his way past him and from the sound of it, takes a seat in the empty desk behind him. His teacher speaks and he ignores her, instead trying to tilt his head enough to get a look at the boy behind him without being too obvious about it. Slowly… slowly… Sapnap shoots him an unimpressed look Dream can just see out of the corner of his eyes, which he ignores of course, squinting desperately as the boy slowly comes into view – staring right at him with an unimpressed demeanour.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Shit.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>”Um,” Dream says blankly, frozen in an awkward half-turn of the head, still looking at the teenager through pained eyes. “H-hi.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He stares back silently and Dream feels a chill go down his spine at this horribly awkward interaction. His idea of getting to know the boy and his life outside the village are falling apart before his eyes. To his side he hears someone – probably one of his asshole friends – start sniggering. He has to do something, anything, to salvage this disaster of a conversation and their potential friendship.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“My name,” he continues, feeling his fingers involuntarily curl at the unintentional forcefulness in his voice. “- my name is Dream.” He ends and smiles widely even as he thanks Order and Chaos that his mask hides the doubtlessly awkward smile plastered across his face. He can’t even imagine how much of an idiot he seems right now.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>To his horror, the boy doesn’t respond, instead electing to stare at him, shoulders tense in – what? Awkwardness? Fear of this failed social interaction? Dream inhales and opens his mouth to continue the wreck of a conversation in a blind panic, trying to not think about how much of a terrible idea this was when the boy finally – <em>finally</em>! – speaks.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You don’t have to keep talking,” he says in a friendly voice, one a lot nicer than Dream had expected. “It was beginning to suck listening to you.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The stranger shrugs, his box shaking again as he does so, and relaxes into a much calmer state than before. “It’s… nice to meet you, I guess? I don’t know - I’ve never really met a lot of new people before.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Dream blinks in surprise. Surely this kid had lived with a lot of people before, right? He had pictured skyscrapers and crowds so large there was no room to breathe. Was none of that true? “You didn’t live in a city or anything?” he asks, heart beginning to sink.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I did,” the boy shrugs again, playing with his fingers. “I just new most of my old friends since I was a kid and I didn’t really introduce myself to people on the streets much, you know.”</p>
<p>“I don’t.” Dream replies.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There’s another pause, and Dream can just <em>feel</em> the boy staring at him in realisation. “Oh yeah,” he finally says in a voice tinged with laughter.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>By this point Dream has fully turned in his seat to meet this new kid, and he has to admit he’s pretty cool. Maybe even friend material? He sure hopes so.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“So, what’s your name?” he asks.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“The teacher said my name, dumbass. But it’s Skeppy, since you <em>clearly</em> weren’t listening.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>His voice is mild, amused almost, even as his words indicate annoyance and Dream can’t help but smile slightly wider at Skeppy’s sense of humour. He thinks he might like this kid.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Bully me on:<br/><a>Tumblr </a><br/><a>Twitter</a><br/>(being bullied is the only motivation I have)</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>(I posted some design for the characters on my socials if you would be interested in taking a look?<br/><a>Tumblr</a><br/><a>Twitter</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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